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Josh Cook

@joshthelibromancer.bsky.social
3.5K followers 1.7K following 4.6K posts

Co-owner of @portersqbooks.bsky.social Author of The Art of Libromancy & An Exaggerated Murder. Opinions my own. BlueSky for @authorsabb.bsky.social & @massaabb.bsky.social He/him linktr.ee/joshthelibromancer

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 5h
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 3h
Read some romance? Hang out with other romance readers? Support Authors Against Book Bans and the fight for the freedom to read? How could you possibly miss this?!?! www.eventbrite.com/e/romance-re...
eventbrite.com
Romance Read-In to Benefit Authors Against Book Bans
It's Banned Books Week - so we're calling on romance readers to support Authors Against Book Bans and fight back against censorship!
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I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 3h
Yes, precisely this.
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Joel Pinckney @jpinckney.bsky.social · 3h
In this vein, hope you don't mind me pointing you to a recent piece of mine, and some very wise booksellers (in this case, @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social): defector.com/what-do-book...
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"Cook identified a couple of chief causes behind the reading crisis we face: “The Religious Right’s decades-long attack on public education that has long used book bans and challenges as a primary tactic that now has major support at every level of our government, and an economy that makes the production and distribution of books incredibly difficult by funneling all of the money away from writers and readers to the ownership class.” Cook said that this “now includes the outright theft of copyrighted material to train computer programs intended to put writers out of work. If you aren’t acknowledging those systemic attacks on literary culture, it’s hard for me to muster any enthusiasm for your arguments about apps and young people.” Book bans, decisions made by profit-driven publishers, attacks on public education, defunding of public libraries, the greed at the heart of our economy—rarely do these threats to reading get mentioned in the flourishing genre of essays about the death of literacy."
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 5h
Ok, you may not be thinking about holiday shopping but we sure are & shopping early is very helpful to small businesses. Sooooo, tell us about someone you're buying a book for this holiday season & we'll give you a recommendation!
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 23h
I know lots happens between a galley & the finished copy but changing the primary color on the cover from yellow to green means I will never be able to find copies of Ply in the store
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Have you found your Banned Books Week read in organized by @libro.fm and Silent Book Club? Well.... blog.libro.fm/banned-books...
blog.libro.fm
Banned Books Week Read-In
Join Libro.fm, Silent Book Club, and over 400 bookstores and libraries for a Banned Books Read-In this Banned Books Week.
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Avengers but it's Befana, Frau Holle, Frau Berchta, & Tante Arie with appearances by Baba Yaga & Strega Nona
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Chuck Tingle @chucktingle.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
what percentage of supposed 'centrist' goofs who long ago accused folks of TROMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME will ever actually address their own misread? address that actually everyone who said it would be very bad was not 'deranged', but much more in tune than they were. i have yet to see it happen once
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Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Registration is now open. www.yorku.ca/laps/the-alc...
yorku.ca
The Alchemy Lecture
The Alchemy Lecture is a multi-vocal model that brings together a constellation of three to four thinkers and practitioners from different disciplines and geographies annually to think together and in...
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Of course it's corruption FBI Eyed Susan Collins Over Defense Contractor’s Donations
share.google
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
S i g h .
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Huh, the policy shown to succeed essentially every time it is employed works again... ... ... ... We'll have to do another study!!!!
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Heyyyy, #BookSky Acid Green Velvet has been out in the world for a few weeks now. It's the kind of book that raises so many questions & inspires so many emotions that you end up desperate for someone to talk to about it. Good news! You can! Right here on Wednesday October 28th! #BlueSkyBookClub
portersquarebooks.com
BlueSky Book Club
Acid Green Velvet is less a novel and more a seduction. A story of decay and decadence, family and betrayal, crime and capitalism, Krilanovich's first novel in almost twenty years, focuses on Paulette, a life-long grifter who has wormed her way into the richest and most powerful household in the town, just as a swell of vagrants, con artists, and would be revolutionaries threaten to overthrow the social and economic order. Acid Green Velvet is a truly fecund novel filled with breathtaking images, brain-halting sentences, and lots of unanswered questions.
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It's Thursday #BookSky AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! A new book review at The Porter Square Review of Books! This week Josh reviews The Sexuality of Care: On Nursing, Kink, & a World without Hospitals from @feministpress.bsky.social
portersquarebooks.com
Review of The Sexuality of Care
The Sexuality of Care is M. K. Thekkumkattil’s memoir in essays that explores their time as a critical care nurse, alongside their own journey of healing from trauma and abuse through…
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Freyja Valentine, Girl IRL Cat URL @freyjavalentine.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
You ever notice how if leftists have a majority presence online it's treated as a problem to be solved, but if right wingers have a majority online presence it's treated as inclusive
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Today at 4PM! Have a ton of fun and help protect the right to read! I mean, just look at that line up!
secure.ngpvan.com
Join a star-studded lineup of authors and influencers to champion the freedom to read. Sign up now!
Join a virtual variety show featuring a star-studded lineup of freedom to read champions celebrating books, authors, and readers. We’ll SHOW UP by making a plan to vote, then SPEAK UP by calling our r...
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is really an incredible thing to see. I don't if you'll really feel this picture if you're not a bookseller, so you'll just have to trust me. Of course, it's also a picture of a friendship
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Been a rough week. If anyone wants to send a dollop of joy my way, tell me about a time you got a really fantastic book recommendation from someone. (Not necessarily me)
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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We can’t allow this man to get within striking distance of a viable presidential candidacy.
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Massachusetts Authors Against Book Bans @massaabb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Now that Massachusetts has passed a right to read law, what's next for freedom to read activism? Here are some thoughts...
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Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
what’s this? an interview with China Miéville on Defector? that’s right
defector.com
China Miéville On The “Completely Defining” Book It Took 20 Years To Write | Defector
It takes an open mind to engage with China Miéville’s work. A writer for whom the already cliched phrase “genre-bending” is even more banal, Miéville has never opposed the designation of genre writer....
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This Banned Books Week join our friends @librom.fm and @silentbookclub.bsky.social are supporting banned books readathons with free audiobooks! Learn more & find a reading 👇
blog.libro.fm
Banned Books Week Read-In
Join Libro.fm, Silent Book Club, and over 400 bookstores and libraries for a Banned Books Read-In this Banned Books Week.
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Friends in Massachusetts! We've got a lot of issues on this year's ballot BUT we also have the League of Women Voters to help us make sense of it all next Sunday
portersquarebooks.com
Be the Change Workshop: Your Voice is Your Vote: Navigating the 2026 Midterm Ballot with The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
Porter Square Books' September Be the Change event will be a "Your Voice is Your Vote" workshop led by The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts.
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
September's Yesterday Today Tomorrow Forever is out! I recommend Hernan Diaz's brilliant In the Distance (I knew him when), a book about Nessie, the new Valeria Luiselli, & a political biography of James Joyce #BookSky
buttondown.com
Yesterday Today Tomorrow Forever: September 2026
Hello Readers, We are back and on Buttondown now! You’ll see this again in the footer I’ve set up (should I keep your attention that long), but I’ve added a...
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Related: "Cruel optimism names a relation of attachment to compromised conditions of possibility .. even though its presence threatens [our] well-being [and] is an obstacle to [our] flourishing..." - Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
ICE activity has been picking up again in Chicago A LOT. If you were previously involved with ICE watch efforts, now is a good time to reengage. I’m going to start wearing a whistle again.
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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
a lot of people act like there's a trade being offered where we give up trans athletes in sports and in exchange fascism is defeated forever
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Here's the tactical thing that BAFFLES me about Dems trying to capture Republican voters with anti-trans policies...If Trump/MAGA hasn't already driven a voter to Democrats (like it did KARL FUCKING ROVE!) your version of anti-trans politics isn't going to do it! These are not gettable voters!
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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Kermit the Frog ys one thousande tymes more real than Tilly Norwood
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
When the powerful playact powerlessness it is always a ploy to avoid accountability.
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kelly jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Iowa lawmakers hate reading whole books almost as much as they hate gay kids. A look at the implementation of SF 496 and a new proposal to make things even worse. If you're in Iowa, you need to comment before September 22. Details on how, what, and why. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
buttondown.com
Iowa Lawmakers Hate Reading Books Almost As Much As They Hate Queer Kids
There's no requirement for a whole book to be read before it's banned in Iowa under SF 496. A new proposal to the bill could speed up bans even more.
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My radical-ish take: No election results should be released until a winner is determined. A whole lot of the material for election-conspiracy theories come from the totally meaningless but emotionally compelling ebbs & flows of vote counting. The winner won when the polls closed.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 18/09/2026
Trans Teen Hatches Nefarious Plot To Undergo Years Of Medical Treatments And Counseling To Win At Swimming theonion.com/trans-teen-hatches-nef…
Trans Teen Hatches Nefarious Plot To Undergo Years Of Medical Treatments And Counseling To Win At Swimming
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
These weeks as we approach the election are going to frustrating & exhausting. You'll do a bunch of stuff & still feel like you still should do more. Find a focus of course, but also, remember to take breaks! Have fun! Read books!! Keep yourself well because we need your work.
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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Hello #BookSky!! We're back with another micro-course on close reading. We've done a bunch of these now because we believe deep engagement with books is one of the antidotes you can give your brain to all of the slop, attention-farming, propaganda, etc that's toxifying our culture. Let's go...
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Out later this afteroon! It also features 1 Pulitzer Prize winning author (though not for the book I write about), 1 book on the NBA longlist for fiction, 1 cryptid, & 1 James Joyce
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Eric Ravenscraft @lordravenscraft.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
holy shit, this is the whole ballgame in a single paragraph gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Wait?!?! And Patricia Lockwood has a poetry collection coming out in October!?!?!?!
portersquarebooks.com
Agate Head / Stone Soup (Penguin Poets)
A new collection of poetry from Booker Prize finalist Patricia Lockwood, FINALLY!"A modern word witch." —The New York Times Book ReviewMany have called Patricia Lockwood a wordsmith, but in the latest iteration of her life, she has become, quite literally, a metalsmith too. Stones, gems, metals, fossils—she forges them into bodies, faces, and, with her typical irreverence, vaginas. In these poems, a robot dog discovers the Lascaux caves in France. Jane Austen shoots a perfect game. A rock gets a girlfriend. The Pope blesses McLovin (kind of). Lockwood's most indelible work of metal- and word-smithing yet is her blend of the Internet world with the natural one, as she sifts meme references and literary echoes into evocations of geological time, explorations of organic bodies, and observations of youth. Both personal and provocative, Agate Head / Stone Soup brings together the intimacy of Lockwood's memoir, the incisiveness of her criticism, the power of her fiction, and the mad genius of her poetry in an ambitious artistic masterpiece served in two slices.
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Jinti is Making Passive Notice Checks @jinti.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
y'all should push for Universal Basic Income 'cuz artists that aren't stressin' over rent and groceries and taxes all the time WILL draw freakier, more unmarketable shit
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
holy shit
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Chris Dwan (he/him) @somershade.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I rhave obtained the currently effective contracts with both the Somerville Police Employees Association (SPEA) and the Somerville Police Superior Officers Association (SPSOA). All the docs are linked from the page below. They're kind of a journey, but let's dig in. dwan.org/index.php/po... 1/?
dwan.org
Police Oversight in Somerville – Chris Dwan
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
See you in your inbox tomorrow #BookSky. I'm bringing four really cool books!
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Would it be gauche to send this to the newslettet I just unsubscribed from because it's journalist author admitted to using AI "a lot," though not for the newsletter.
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 17/09/2026
“A senior executive at Microsoft said A.I. systems built on the work of others will be seen as ‘an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions’ and possibly the greatest robbery of labor in human history, according to court documents unredacted Thursday in an ongoing Manhattan lawsuit.”
orlandosentinel.com
Docs in A.I. copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
The admission appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle playing out between newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and tech companies Microsoft and OpenAI...
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Same people who seem to think it’s bad for China to beat us at AI are perfectly fine with China beating us at high speed rail, solar energy, wind energy, shall we go on
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
It feels like the fact that Kraft wants us to think he's supporting Palestine proves the status quo has shifted
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Uhhhh, the epigraph is from Ashe of Rings by Mary Butts which is an absolute favorite of mine. Modernist witchy, pagan, antiwar.
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Well this sounds fucking awesome
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Josh Cook @joshthelibromancer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Oh! I actually write about a book on the NBA longlist for fiction! Only one way to know which one...
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